Principles for the Use of Generative AI at JSBE
Table of contents
AI is a tool that students will use in their future workplaces. Therefore, getting acquainted with the applications and learning to use them is beneficial. JSBE has outlined the use of AI as part of studies as follows:
- The use of AI is generally permitted.
- Decision on the use of AI must be declared at the beginning of the assignment/coursework/thesis, and the use must always be transparently reported.
- Deviation from these recommendations may occur in individual courses or assignments.
Although the use is permitted and encouraged, it should be done responsibly and transparently. Therefore, it is important to follow the following guidelines for responsible use, transparent reporting, and special situations. The use contrary to these principles will be treated in the same way as any other dishonest conduct.
Detailed AI instructions
- The use of AI is generally permitted.
- AI can be used in studies in various ways, but its use is not intended to replace one's own thinking, reading literature, or text production. The purpose of university studies is to develop critical thinking skills, and this skill does not develop if thinking is outsourced to AI.
- AI might present others' ideas as its own, and by citing only AI-generated text, you risk spreading AI-generated plagiarism, which is against good scientific practice and will be treated as misconduct. Always verify AI's response from original sources and cite them primarily instead of citing AI. It is essential to distinguish whose idea/text/image it is. AI can be cited when it is verifiably the original source (e.g., an image generated by DALL-E). In such cases, the AI-generated idea or image should be cited like any other source in your work (see Citation guidelines) to ensure the reader understands it appropriately.
- AI can be used for developing ideas for self-written text, but it should never be used to produce the final text of an assignment or thesis from scratch, and such AI-generated text should not be presented as self-written. AI can be used for formatting or proofreading existing text (e.g., to make it grammatically correct or structurally smooth, similar to Grammarly and other such tools). However, this does not apply to tasks where correctness of language is the focus of assessment. Note that AI may excessively alter the text or distort references, and the writer is always responsible for the final result and also for any instances of plagiarism or misappropriation.
- AI is not a scientific source. AI can be used to aid understanding, but reading its generated summary does not replace engaging with the original text. It is not appropriate for our future understanding of a subject to be based solely on AI-generated summaries, as these summaries may be incorrect or misleading.
- Risks and limitations related to data protection, cybersecurity, and copyrights must also be considered if the intention is to feed ready-made material such as articles, research data, etc., for AI processing. For example, it is good to understand the terms of use of the tools, e.g.: Is the tool allowed to share articles/material? Where does the input material end up? Is it archived? Can it be passed on? Who owns the material in the future? Where the AI possibly processes and stores the given materials, i.e. Does AI handle data within or outside Europe (cf. GDPR)? In these matters follow the JYU guidelines.
- Decision on the use of AI must be declared at the beginning of the assignment/coursework/thesis, and the use must always be transparently reported.
- All types of AI use must always be transparently reported at the beginning of each assignment/coursework/thesis. In theses, reporting is added to the page before the table of contents.
- At the beginning of each assignment/coursework/thesis, the following is declared:
• AI has not been used in this assignment/coursework/thesis OR
• AI has been utilized in this assignment/coursework/thesis in the following manner: Report the used tool and purpose as detailed as possible. If it is a longer text, specify how AI has been used in different phases of the work (e.g., introduction, literature review, conclusions...). Detailed reporting also protects the author if plagiarism detection tools suspect misconduct. You can use the table below for reporting:
| Tool Used | Purpose of Use | The Prompt Used |
| ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, etc. |
• Ideation before the writing phase "AI was used to improve my original text (proofreading) by inputting my original text into the AI." "AI was utilized to generate images for a PowerPoint presentation." "AI was used to consolidate findings from the following articles." "AI was asked to provide feedback on my own text." Be as clear and transparent as possible in describing the usage! |
"Shorten the following text." "Identify the key findings of the given text." |
- Individual courses or assignments may deviate from these recommendations.
- The course instructor may provide further guidance as needed for each course.
- For example, if the intention is to strengthen article reading skills, it is justifiable to prohibit the use of AI in article tasks. Similarly, if the correctness of language or linguistic style is the focus of evaluation, using AI for proofreading or text editing may not be permitted.
- In the abstract of a master's thesis, AI is not allowed to be used because the maturity exam is evaluated based on the abstract, thereby assessing how well the student demonstrates independent mastery of the thesis topic and academic writing.
For more information on the use of AI in studies and examples of reporting, you can find it at Using AI-based applications in studies - JYU’s instructions and guidelines.
